Hey iruser, welcome to ABi...Not sure how many folks have Coby players or experience with them. Hate to say it, but most of us dislike Coby. Still, for an 8 year old, probably a good choice.

As for full charge, no idea. If there is no indicator, I must assume that after at least 3-4 hours of charging the device is probably at full power [using an AC charger]. If charging via USB [from a computer] it may take much longer than that.

I am purely guessing and using some common sense so take that for what it is worth...

I know many more knowledgable folks here on this stuff will chime in hopefully!
cheers,
-lestatar

PS: in either case of charging, via wall AC outlet or computer, surely overnight charging will result in 100% charge for the Coby.

thanks for the reply - yes coby is a low end brand, and i suspect the technology inside may not be the current technology. But yes perfect for an 8 year old. Cool in that it does movies, and cheap enough that when he drops it in the snow, no biggy.

i read the article about lithium batteries and how it can charge in pieces, it does not have a memory as batteries of old did. very interesting and helpful. This battery would appear to be as described, it will take a partial charge and go for a couple of hours. Using video sucks the battery really quickly, but I guess that is to be expected.

I'm charging it via usb, looking for the a/c usb charger - one that will turn off when the battery is charged since the unit does not appear to.

when you plug this thing in a USB symbol is displayed on the screen. You can transfer files to it, but not turn it on. While it is turned on there is a battery symbol that appears to change colour as it draws down, as well as show a shorter battery as it draws down.

I had expected that when it is fully charged it would have turned off the usb symbol.

iruser: well, it probably is due to low end Coby electronics/firmware used where the USB icon stays displayed even when fully charged. Actually as I understand it [am no battery expert] most modern portable device batteries can be charged/discharged at any time, with no real negative impact on lifespan [though I could be wrong]...

Yeah, I think your best bet is simply to plug the thing in and charge overnight. Wake up the next day and let your kid enjoy some music/movies.